Inflatable balls, such as beach balls and the like, have been well known and enjoyed widespread worldwide marketing and monetary success for decades. Inflatable balls are generally constructed out of a thin flexible outer skin, such as thin sheet rubber, plastic and the like. It is typically provided with an airtight stem valve molded into the outer skin for putting air into the ball with some degree of pressure adjustments. Because of the lightweight structure and elasticity of the inflated ball, the bouncing and throwing characteristics are very appealing and unpredictable.
Over the years quite a large number of inventors have sought to improve or add features to a standard ball so that people can derive even more pleasure, fun and satisfaction from playing with it. These features include 1) ball luminosity so that one can play with a luminous ball after dark; 2) sound emission so as to amuse small children and arouse their curiosity; 3) erratic and unpredictable ball movement having a swingable variable internal bladder filled with water which causes the inflatable ball to move in an erratic and unpredictable manner for greater playing enjoyment, and so on. But the present inventors have yet another idea. By incorporating features within an inflatable ball so as to make its motion predictable to a large extent by acquiring a special skill or training practice, this novel inflatable ball can be rendered the cornerstone for a totally new sporting game called the “Sokker Golph” as will be described briefly below.
For over a century, the game of golf has always been considered as a game of high prestige and esteem. No doubt this is at least partially so because golf requires not only a player's developed skill but also one's mastery over one's mind when the game is played. In this respect golf is truly a unique game of its own unmatched by any others in the sporting world. Unfortunately for many people, golf has also been developed over the years for people of means. It has been looked upon as a rich man's game requiring not only expensive equipment to play (e.g. the golf club set and bag) but also fashionable attire and exquisite golf courses associated with country clubs accessible to those lucky few that can afford such means, and golf still remains one of the most expensive sporting games for people to play. It is of interest to note that golf today still has not been recognized and listed as a competitive sporting event in the Olympic Games.
On the other hand, the game of soccer has been considered for a long time by many as the most popular and beloved sporting game of the world. Only until recently soccer was not a popular game in the United States primarily because of the co-existence of the enormously popular game of American football. Over the past decade or so, the popularity of soccer in the United States has grown significantly. Today soccer is just as popular, if not more so, as little league baseball for elementary school children, boys and girls alike. In the coming years it is difficult not to believe that soccer will rank equally in enthusiasm and support alongside with American football, baseball, ice hockey and basketball as the most popular seasonable sporting games in the United States.
As more and more people play golf in the United States and the popularity of soccer has just about gone through the roof in about the same time span, particularly in the United States, an opportunity presents itself for introducing a game that combines the striking features of these two popular and beloved games into one that is more accessible to ordinary people. Such a game, called “Sokker Golph,” is played very much like the regular golf game with a special inflatable ball with predictable movements taking the place of the golf ball and the driving and putting of it replaced by simply kicking or passing this special ball without any need of the golf clubs. Sokker Golph actually mirrors, albeit in a different way, not only the fun and spirit of the game of golf, but more importantly reduces the overall playing cost for the game to the point that almost anybody can afford playing it. For example, whereas golf players pretty much have to practice their game in golf courses or at least in a meticulously manicured putting green in a country club or in some rich folk's backyard, Sokker Golph, like baseball or American football, can be practiced to play almost anywhere such as parks, school yards, open fields or even in the streets. The reason is that the skill required for playing Sokker Golph is to control kicking and passing of a special ball which behaves predictably only when it is kicked or passed with practiced deliberation. This special inflatable ball exhibits an eccentric and unpredictable motion in flight or on the ground when kicked unless a concomitant spin is appropriately applied to it and the present invention is directed to an improved ball capable of being used in playing Sokker Golph. In other words, the currently invented ball only allows properly trained players to control its motion on the ground or in the air. Once this special skill is acquired, good soccer players can take advantage of their ball handling skills in playing the game of Sokker Golph.
Before addressing what is new in the present invention, it is useful to review some prior inventions that have come before the present invention.
Dating back as far as one can remember, it has been almost an unexplainable action for people to kick something that is lying on the ground. It is especially so when the object happens to be a ball. Thus, over the past several decades, various ideas have been advocated via the patent avenue to improve one's skill in kicking the ball, or to improve the features of the ball itself so that people can derive more pleasure, fun or satisfaction while kicking it. This of course is above and beyond people's appetite and strong desire to play or watch all kinds of sporting games involving the use of a ball from as small as the golf ball in the game of golf to the oblong-shaped ball in American football, soccer ball in the game of soccer and basketball in the game of basketball. The only exception is the game of ice Hockey when a disc called a “puck” is used instead of a ball.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,668,143 issued to Daasch in 1928, the inventor advances a novel type of sounding toy in the form of a hollow ball having a sound producing member disposed therein so that when the ball is placed in motion, an intermittent sound will be pronounced and emitted from the ball. The object is to amuse small children and arouse their exciting curiosity when they play with the ball of this invention.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,499,483 issued to Foy in 1950, the author invented a rolling, audible and visual toy, comprising a hollow thin sphere formed of transparent plastic material, a flat thin metal double-faced mirror arranged within the sphere and extending diametrically of the same and having its marginal edge attached to the sphere, and colored balls arranged within the sphere upon opposite sides of the mirror. This invention relates to toys for infants.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,851 issued to Murray in 1968, an art of kicking a football was introduced. This invention advances a provision in a football of means visible to the kicker during the process of kicking the ball for insuring its correct orientation relatively to the kicking foot for obtaining uniformly accurate results for each of the different types of kicks. The official rules of NCAA define the ball used in the game of football as having the shape of a prolate spheroid and it is due to this shape of the ball it has been quite difficult to master the art of producing accurately directed and properly executed so-called “end-over-end” and “spiral” punts. These punts are those which the football rules define as being a kick by the player who drops it from his hands and kicks it before it strikes the ground. This invention advances three sets of clearly delineated, visible guide marks formed on the laced top of the ball in order to allow the kicker to apply the correct spin on the ball for achieving the best results.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,563 issued to G. K. Russell in 1989, an inflatable ball is disclosed having eccentric flight and bounce characteristics. Russell teaches an inflatable ball with a swingable variable internal bladder which, when filled with water, will cause the inflatable ball to move in an erratic fashion for greater playing enjoyment. The movement is typically described as being orbital in nature.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,451 issued to Macdonald et al. in 1991, the authors disclosed a game football which can be stabilized in flight by weighted material that responds to spinning of the football about its major axis by moving radially outwards to become evenly distributed about that axis. Two annular tubes, concentrically disposed about the major axis encircle the ball at opposite sides of a plane containing the minor axis of the ball. The weighted material, in the form of beads, liquid, etc. is contained within the tubes and is flung radially outward as the ball spins.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,162 issued to Orbanes et al. in 1993, the inventors advanced a toy ball having a body of solid foam plastic material and a noisemaker completely embedded within the foam plastic body. The noise maker includes a hollow rigid housing made out of plastic and a marble within the housing free to roll around therein so as to create a clattering sound when the ball is shaken, thrown or caught.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,845 issued to Canelas in 1999, the inventor advances a combination of a pair of soccer shoes and a soccer ball wherein each of the shoes and the ball have an exterior surface marked with selected areas of differing shapes and colors. The markings on the shoes correspond in shape and color to the markings on the exterior of the ball in order to instruct a kicker where to kick the ball with each portion of his or her foot in order to make the ball move in desired directions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,622 issued to Chung in 2000, unpredictable bounce characteristics are imparted to a ball by forming the ball as a composite wherein a second ball part is disposed within a first ball part with the centers of each ball part spaced one from the other. Such an unpredictable motion of the ball upon kicking by the player serves to add more fun to the playing with the ball. In a first embodiment of this invention, the second part is of the relatively high bounce ball type that is disposed in an off-center cavity formed in the first ball part which is fabricated from sponge-like rubber. In a second embodiment the first ball part is of the relatively high bounce ball type and the second ball part is an air filled cavity spaced from the center of the first ball part. The manner in which this composite ball can be fabricated in practice is also disclosed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,390 issued to Holtier et al. also in 2000, a toy ball especially useful for pets which includes a suspended weight positioned at the center of a tensionable elastic member is taught. The outer member is formed of rigid plastic semi-spheres.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,616 B1 issued to Motosko, III in 2002, the inventor advanced an inflated ball comprising an outer chamber formed of an air-tight flexible outer skin which, when properly inflated and fully expanded, defines an interior volume. A sealed inner chamber filled with a substance substantially heavier than air is positioned within and occupies a relatively small amount of the interior volume. A plurality of elongated radially extending and three-dimensionally spaced elastic members are each connected and radially extended between the inner chamber and the inner surface of the outer chamber. The elastic members are cooperatively sized in length and suitably tensioned to support and hold the inner chamber centrally in an at-rest position within the interior volume. Each of the elastic members will cooperatively stretch and contract in response to ball movement, such as rolling or being thrown and impact of the ball against a surface, causing the inner chamber to be unpredictably displaced from the at-rest position by gravity and inertia resulting in an erratic movement of the ball.
In a follow-on U.S. Pat. No. 6,537,125 B1 issued also to Motosko III in 2003, a handgrip molded with and radially extending from the outer skin is added so as to enhance sitting and bouncing play action.
In U.S. Patent Application Publication No.: US 2007/0037641 A1 dated Feb. 15, 2007 entitled “Skokker™ Ball,” Wong teaches a ball with a hollow inner core filled approximately 50% or less by volume with a liquid (which can include metallic spheres), a ball shell and struts (six or more) attached to the core and connected to an inner surface of the ball in such a way so as to always maintain the core at the center of the ball. A swirling motion of the liquid within the hollow inner core determines the motion of the ball and a direction of travel away from a point of contact at which a force is applied to the ball to cause it to move or change direction.
It is evident from the prior arts described above, with the exception of U.S. 2007/0037641 A1 entitled “Skokker™ Ball”, that the conceptual implementation of a special ball which behaves unpredictably unless it is being handled in a specifically skillful way, is absent. Since the movements of the earlier disclosed “Skokker™ Ball” are a strong function of a player's invoked action on it, this novel ball could meet the requirement and fulfill the success of the sporting game of Sokker Golph which is the subject of U.S. Patent Application Publication No.: US 2007/0037636 A1 dated Feb. 15, 2007 to Wong entitled “Sporting Game of Sokker Golph.” Furthermore, as an inflatable ball with only player-induced predictable movements, the “Skokker™ Ball” is indeed novel and unique and will certainly be welcome and enjoyed by many ball players in numerous occasions throughout the world. However, the disclosed method for manufacturing such a ball, described earlier in terms of production viability, unit production cost and product safety is far from being practical nor satisfactory. The primary objective of the present invention is therefore to advance a new and novel design for the so-called “Skokker™ Ball”, to be used not only in the sporting game of Sokker Golph but also to be enjoyed by millions of people throughout the world, such that its production will be deemed completely viable resulting in a minimum unit manufacturing cost and guaranteeing uncompromising product safety.